Canopy

Abstract

A canopy comprises a sheet material that forms a main portion of the canopy having a greater length than width. The canopy comprises vent apertures in the sheet material. The vent apertures are spaced apart along the length of the canopy. The vent apertures may have vent covers. The vent cover restricts water from flowing or entering the vent aperture and passing from outside the canopy to inside the canopy but allows air to move upwards though the vent, or relieves pressure from beneath the canopy.

1 . A canopy comprising sheet material forming a main portion of the canopy having a greater length than width, vent apertures in the sheet material and vent covers over the vent apertures, wherein each vent cover is formed from a piece or strip of material folded about a longitudinal fold line, the vent aperture being formed through an inner side of the piece or strip of material and the sheet material of the canopy, and an outer side of the piece or strip of material forming the vent cover over the vent aperture. 
     
     
         2 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy. 
     
     
         3 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinal edge region of the canopy. 
     
     
         4 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy and vent apertures in a longitudinal edge region of the canopy and the vent apertures in the centre region are spaced closer together along the length of the canopy, or spaced further apart along the length of the canopy, compared to the vent apertures in the edge region of the canopy, and/or the vent apertures in the centre region comprise a larger diameter than the vent apertures in the edge region of the canopy. 
     
     
         5 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy and vent apertures in a longitudinal edge portion of the canopy and the vent apertures in the edge portion are spaced closer together along the length of the canopy compared to the vent apertures in the centre portion of the canopy. 
     
     
         6 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy and vent apertures in a longitudinal edge region of the canopy and the vent apertures in the centre region comprise a larger diameter than the vent apertures in the edge region of the canopy. 
     
     
         7 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinal intermediate region of the canopy between a longitudinally extending edge region of the canopy and a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy. 
     
     
         8 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy and vent apertures in an intermediate region of the canopy between a longitudinally extending edge region of the canopy and the centre portion, and the vent apertures in the centre portion are spaced closer together along the length of the canopy compared to the vent apertures in the intermediate region of the canopy. 
     
     
         9 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy and vent apertures in an intermediate region of the canopy between a longitudinally extending edge region of the canopy and the centre portion, and the vent apertures in the centre portion comprise a larger diameter than the vent apertures in the intermediate region of the canopy. 
     
     
         10 . A canopy according to  claim 3  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in an intermediate region of the canopy between the longitudinally extending edge region of the canopy and a centre portion of the canopy, and the vent apertures in the intermediate region are spaced closer together along the length of the canopy compared to the vent apertures in the edge region. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent apertures in a longitudinally extending centre portion of the canopy, vent apertures in a longitudinal edge region of the canopy, a vent cover over each of the vent apertures in the longitudinally centre portion of the canopy, and no vent covers over the vent apertures in the longitudinal edge region of the canopy. 
     
     
         13 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent covers comprising a heavier weight sheet material than the sheet material of the main portion of the canopy. 
     
     
         14 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent covers comprising a sheet material of lighter weight than or the same weight as the sheet material of the main portion of the canopy. 
     
     
         15 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent covers comprising a relatively light weight sheet material having a weight of 50 to 200 g/m 2 , or 50 to 100 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         16 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent covers comprising a relatively intermediate weight sheet material having a weight of 100 to 400 g/m 2 , or 100 to 200 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         17 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent covers comprising a relatively heavy weight sheet material having a weight of 200 to 1000 g/m 2 , or 200 to 600 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         18 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises vent covers in a first region of the canopy formed from a first sheet material and vent covers in a second region of the canopy formed from a second sheet material, the first sheet material having a heavier weight than the second sheet material. 
     
     
         19 . A canopy according to  claim 18  wherein the vent apertures in the first region of the canopy comprise a larger diameter than the vent apertures in the second region of the canopy. 
     
     
         20 . A canopy according to  claim 18  wherein the first region is a longitudinally extending central region of the canopy. 
     
     
         21 . A canopy according to  claim 20  wherein the second region is a longitudinally extending edge region of the canopy. 
     
     
         22 . A canopy according to  claim 18  wherein the canopy comprises vent covers formed from a third sheet material in a third region of the canopy, the third sheet material having a weight lighter than the first sheet material and heavier than the second sheet material. 
     
     
         23 . A canopy according to  claim 22  wherein the third region of the canopy is an intermediate region of the canopy between a longitudinally extending central region and a longitudinally extending edge region. 
     
     
         24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the vent cover is formed from a strip or sheet material formed in a cylinder, the cylinder folded or flattened to form an inner side and an outer side, the vent aperture being formed through the inner side, and the outer side of the cylinder forming the vent cover over the vent aperture. 
     
     
         26 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the vent cover is attached to the sheet material of the canopy by a grommet forming the vent aperture through the sheet material of the canopy and the inner side. 
     
     
         27 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the outer side is attached to the inner side along a longitudinal edge of the vent cover above the vent aperture relative to a ridge line of the canopy. 
     
     
         28 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the outer side is attached to the inner side along a longitudinal edge of the vent cover below the vent aperture relative to a ridge line of the canopy. 
     
     
         29 . A canopy according to  claim 28  wherein the outer side is releasably attached to the inner side along a longitudinal edge of the vent cover below the vent aperture relative to the ridge line of the canopy. 
     
     
         30 . A canopy according to  claim 28  wherein the lateral dimension of the outer side is greater than the lateral dimension of the inner side so that the outer side arches outwardly from the vent aperture. 
     
     
         31 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein at least an upper portion of a lateral edge or edges of the outer side are attached to the inner side. 
     
     
         32 . A canopy according to  claim 2  wherein the canopy includes securing features within the region of the centre portion and each vent aperture in the centre portion is located adjacent to a said securing feature. 
     
     
         33 . A canopy according to  claim 2  wherein the vent apertures in the centre portion of the canopy are located on either side of a ridge of the canopy, and the vent apertures on each side of the ridge  12  are aligned along the canopy. 
     
     
         34 . A canopy according to  claim 2  wherein the vent apertures in the centre portion of the canopy are located on either side of a ridge of the canopy, and the vent apertures on one side of the ridge being staggered with the vent apertures on the other side of the ridge along the canopy. 
     
     
         35 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the vent apertures are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction along the canopy. 
     
     
         36 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein a longitudinally extending centre portion is reinforced, the reinforced centre portion having a heavier construction than the sheet material on either side of the reinforced centre portion. 
     
     
         37 - 39 . (canceled) 
     
     
         40 . A canopy according to  claim 3  wherein the longitudinal edge region of the canopy is reinforced, the reinforced longitudinal edge region having a heavier construction than the sheet material either side of or adjacent to the reinforced edge region. 
     
     
         41 . A canopy according to  claim 7  wherein the longitudinal intermediate region of the canopy is reinforced, the reinforced longitudinal intermediate region having a heavier construction than the sheet material either side of the reinforced edge region. 
     
     
         42 - 46 . (canceled) 
     
     
         47 . A canopy according to  claim 34  wherein the canopy includes securing features within the region of the reinforced centre portion. 
     
     
         48 . A canopy according to  claim 47  wherein the canopy comprises a longitudinally extending flap in the reinforced centre portion, and the securing features are located in or on the flap. 
     
     
         49 . A canopy according to  claim 48  wherein the sheet material comprises at least two main webs of canopy material, longitudinal edge portions of the two main webs secured together in the reinforced centre portion to form the flap. 
     
     
         50 . A canopy according to  claim 48  wherein the sheet material comprises at least one main web of canopy material and the flap is folded from the main web along a longitudinal fold line in the reinforced centre portion to comprise at least two layers of the main web folded together. 
     
     
         51 - 54 . (canceled) 
     
     
         55 . A canopy according to  claim 36  wherein the canopy, or at least the parts of the canopy that are outside the reinforced centre portion, are transparent or translucent to transmit light to plants beneath the canopy in use. 
     
     
         56 - 59 . (canceled) 
     
     
         60 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the sheet material comprises a woven sheet material woven from warp tapes and weft tapes, and a coating layer on one or both sides of the woven sheet material. 
     
     
         61 - 81 . (canceled) 
     
     
         82 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy has a greater length than width and the canopy comprises:
 at least one side extending between a longitudinal canopy ridge line and a longitudinal canopy edge, the side comprising:
 a sheet material extending the length of the canopy for shielding weather, and 
 a venting region extending the length of the canopy comprising netting allowing air flow through the side of the canopy, the netting arranged alongside the sheet material to form a section of the side of the canopy, a longitudinal edge of the netting attached to a longitudinal edge of the sheet material, 
 a venting region cover arranged over the venting region and the longitudinal edge of the sheet material for shielding weather and movable to allow the air flow through the side of the canopy, and 
 a plurality of belts spaced apart along the longitudinal direction of the canopy, each belt extending across the venting region to reduce stretch of the venting region in a width direction of the canopy, an amount of stretch of the belts being less than an amount of stretch of the netting material without belts. 
 
 
     
     
         83 - 105 . (canceled) 
     
     
         106 . A canopy according to  claim 1  wherein the canopy comprises a longitudinal fixing flap comprising the sheet material a distance from a longitudinal edge of the canopy, the fixing flap comprising securing features spaced apart along the fixing flap, and a portion of the width of the canopy outside the fixing flap forming a cover portion. 
     
     
         107 - 121 . (canceled) 
     
     
         122 . A method of sheltering a crop by positioning a canopy as claimed in  claim 1  over the crop. 
     
     
         123 . A method according to  claim 122  wherein the method comprises positioning two or more said canopies side-by-side, each canopy comprising:
 a longitudinal fixing flap comprising the sheet material a distance from a longitudinal edge of the canopy, the fixing flap comprising securing features spaced apart along the fixing flap, and a portion of the width of the canopy outside the fixing flap forming a cover portion, wherein 
 the fixing flap extends from a main portion of the canopy and the cover portion so that the cover portion extends from above the main portion of the canopy and from inside the securing features to extend outside the longitudinal edge of the main portion of the canopy, and 
 the cover portions of adjacent canopies overlapping.